SCARECROW
by Fairweather Friend 306
Summary: Oneshot, Frerard. In Franks POV unless it says otherwise. After a tragic accident Frank falls in depression, but when two brothers move in next door, can he find happiness with the batman obsessed one or will he be forever lonely?


**Hello this story is not done by me it is by my sister and if you have deviant art then you might have read it there under dieingslowlyinside **

I opened my eyes. Sun was pouring down through the window.

I sat up and blinked. This made a pleasant change from the non stop rain that we'd been experiencing. Hopping out of bed, I stumbled downstairs, making my way into the kitchen. My Dad was already there, drinking a coffee.

"Good morning. Rain finally stopped." He said, smiling.

"I know!" I said, pouring myself some cereal.

I picked up my bowl and walked into the lounge room, sitting on the couch.

Turning on the TV I started to eat my breakfast. My phone dinged, letting me know I had a new text. I grabbed my phone off the table and flipped it open.

There was a message from my boyfriend, Kyle. I grinned as I read it.

Meet me at the park at 6.00  
P.S Don't eat yet  
Love Kyle  
Xox

"Dad! I'm not going to be here for dinner. I'm meeting Kyle." I yelled in the direction of the kitchen.

"Alright, but promise you'll be back before 8.30" he said sternly.

"I promise!"

I turned back around, thrilled at the thought of seeing Kyle again. It had been almost a week and I missed him already. I was buzzing inside, feeling so excited. Already I was planning what I was going to wear. Black jeans, hoodie, dark shirt. I'd have to play around with my hair and appearance so that I looked nice. I wondered how long it took Kyle to get ready. As I was pondering, my dad said,

"I'm going to work now, behave and make sure you clean your room."

I nodded and heard him leave, shoes tapping across the floor. When I'd finished eating I ran up to my room. I quickly cleaned it up then grabbed the clothes I wanted and skipped into the bathroom. It took me about half an hour to shower, get dressed, do my hair and put some makeup on. Then I decided to go for a walk, something I didn't usually do. Once outside, I tilted my head up, looking into the sky. It was blue and beautiful. I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth on my face. I smiled. Today was going to be a good day, I could feel it.

As I walked down the street I felt insanely happy. The rain had stopped, I was going to see my boyfriend and I had all this time to myself. Laughing I spun around in circles then decided to treat myself to an ice-cream. Stopping at the little shop on the corner I brought myself a strawberry ice-cream cone. I licked at it and kept walking.

I spent the rest of the day in a good mood. I went home and even cleaned up the house for my dad, whistling as I did so. I couldn't wait for 6.00 to come. At 5.30 I sat on the couch impatiently and watched the clock. At 5.40 I couldn't wait any longer. I jumped off the couch and ran to the door, stopping to check my appearance as I passed the mirror in the hall. I grinned at my reflection. Then turned and left, locking the door behind me. It would only take me about 3 minutes to get to the park but I would rather be early then waiting on the couch, staring at the clock. I started walking, then stopped. Right ahead of me was a beautiful blood red rose. It had full dark petals and luscious green leaves. I decided to pick it and give it to Kyle. I was sure he would be delighted, so I felt pleased with myself. I bent over and plucked it from the bush. Then pulled back.

"Ouch" I muttered, studying my finger.

There was a small bright speck of blood flowing from where I had pricked my finger on the thorn. I hadn't realised there were thorns there. Still, it was worth it for this wonderful flower. I held it up, admiring it, then kept walking, already forgetting the blood on my hand.

The sun was still up, but looked as though it would set soon. I smiled into the sky. Kyle probably planned this. He was such a good boyfriend. When I was at the park I sat myself down on a bench and made myself comfortable. Sticking my hand into my pocket to keep it warm, I contemplated what Kyle had planned. A picnic? Possibly since he said not to eat. Maybe he wanted to lie and stare at the stars. I got lost in my fantasies and didn't notice when Kyle arrived. I stood as he approached. His eyes were fixated on me and mine were likewise. He stepped onto the road, not looking for cars. I didn't think to check either. All I could see was him. I opened my arms, and then screamed. A car had come hurtling around the corner, knocking the breath out of Kyle. He fell to the ground, and lay still. I watched in horror, unable to move, as the car drove off. The passenger hanging out the window laughed and yelled,

"That'll teach him!"

I ran towards Kyle, laughter ringing after me.

"Kyle! Kyle!" I was yelling and crying.

Why wouldn't he wake up? Why was he just lying there?

A lady came from across the road, with an angry expression on her face.

"What is all that racket…" she started to say, but stopped as she took in Kyle and me on the ground. Her eyes widened.

"I'll call an ambulance." She said and sprinted back into her house. I stared at Kyle. He wasn't breathing. I realised that he wasn't going to wake up. I sat back and watched the trees in the park. The tears pouring down my face subsided and I dimly saw the woman from across the road, running back towards me. She knelt down and picked up Kyle's hand, checking for a pulse. I opened my mouth to tell her that it was useless, but ended up crying instead. She looked up at me, seeming unsure of what she should be doing.

"He's dead isn't he? They killed him!" I said and stood up.

"Wait. Where are you going?" the lady asked, looking worried.

"I don't know. Home. My dad is expecting me. I have to…have to…" I trailed off and watched an ambulance arrive. It stopped and people came out, paramedics. They moved towards Kyle. I looked away, unable to bare watching. I heard noises then,

"It's no use, we've lost him"

The rose dropped from my hand. Through the layers of panic, fear and disbelief, I had forgotten that I was holding it. It fell, hitting the ground silently. I looked away.

Blood red, of course.

Someone came up behind me. I turned and looked at them.

"Hello, my names Abbey." She said softly. I blinked at her, but kept quiet. Her expression was sad and worried. Why was everyone worried about me? Kyle was dead, not me. Kyle. Why didn't anyone care about him?

"What's your name?" she said, trying again. I looked down, choosing to stare at my feet rather then her face. She made me want to cry.

I told her my name.

"Ok. Did you know this boy?" she asked. I looked up sharply, glaring at her.

"His name was Kyle. And yes, he was my boyfriend." I said angrily. She looked surprised, then pitying.

"Would you be able to tell me what happened?"

"I…he was walking across the road…and then…then...a car came and it….hit him." I started crying again, then felt bad. I shouldn't be crying, it wouldn't help anything.

I jerked back as her arms engulfed me.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled, pushing her away from me .She looked hurt and I knew I wasn't being fair. She was just trying to help. But I didn't want to be looked after. I wanted to pretend that nothing had happened. I knew I would lose it if they tried to help me. She took a step back.

"You're going to have to stay here and talk to the police when they arrive. They need to know what happened. Do you have somewhere to go after this?" she asked me kindly. I didn't want her kindness, it was making me want to break down. It reminded me of when my mum died. People kept trying to hug me and they wouldn't leave me alone. Always making me talk about how I felt and if I was ok and did I need anything. Kyle was the only one who left me alone when I wanted to be alone. Which ironically made me want him with me.

A police car arrived, parking across the street. A police officer hopped out and walked up to us. He pulled Abbey aside and started talking to her. She nodded and went over to the ambulance, where they were loading Kyle's body onto a stretcher. The police officer walked towards me. I ducked my head and waited for him to arrive.

"Hello" he said kindly. I blinked and tried not to cry again.

"We're going to have to ask you to come with us and answer some questions. You're not in trouble, we just need to find out what happened. Ok?" he asked, watching me.

I nodded and followed him to the police car, glancing back at the ambulance as we left. I climbed into the front seat and put my seatbelt on.

"I'm Sergeant Deegan, in case you were wondering." He stated, then turned on the car and pulled off the curb. I stared out the window, focusing on the trees and ignoring the pain that threatened to fill me. It didn't work too well, so I decided to try a different approach.

Um…think about something else, anything else. I concentrated on the school exams we had soon, revising in my head. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice when we arrived at the police station. I looked up, startled as Sergeant Deegan started talking.

"We're here. Just follow me" he said.

"Ok." I said quietly.

I opened the front door to my house. My dad was sitting on the couch in the lounge room, watching TV. I walked inside, Sergeant Deegan following close behind me. My dad looked up as he heard our footsteps.

"Your home early…what's going on?" he asked, seeing the policeman.

He stood up and walked over to us, looking between us.

"You can go now, if you want. I can fill your father in." Deegan said.

I nodded gratefully and walked unsteadily up to my room. Once I got there I locked the door and collapsed on the bed. I let all my tears I'd held back fall freely down my face. Curling into a ball I lay there for ages, eventually falling asleep.

When I woke up I felt happy, but my throat hurt. I didn't know why, but put it down to that I was getting sick. Walking out into the hallway I realised that today was Saturday. That meant no school. I whistled as I jumped down the stairs, two at a time. My dad was sitting at the table, as usual.

"Good morning!" I said cheerfully.

He looked up startled.

"Good…good morning" he said cautiously,

"What's up? Why are looking at me like that?" I asked, confused as to why he was staring at me like I had lost my mind.

"Nothing. You want to talk about yesterday?" He said, still with that cautious tone in his voice.

As though he was afraid I would…would what? Suddenly jump at him and try to vampirise him. I mean sheesh dad, I grew out of that long ago. I knew I was probably giving him a weird look, but I didn't care.

"Noo….why would I? By the way, my throat hurts, I think I might have caught something. Do we have any medicine or something?" I said, walking up to the cupboards and getting out a bowl.

" Honey… Your throat huts from screaming so much"

I turned around to face him, frowning.

"What? I don't get it, what are you talking about?"

"You don't remember? You went to see Kyle and then.." he trailed off, looking unsure.

Kyle? Oh my god…Kyle was dead.

I was vaguely aware of a smashing noise. I looked dumbly at my empty hands, noticing that they had started shaking. Another pair of hands was suddenly holding them. I snatched my hands away, yelling,

"Don't touch me!"

Then I realised it was my dad. He looked hurt as he let his hands fall to his sides. Tears starting falling down my face as I turned and sprinted back up the stairs.

No wonder my throat hurt, I had spent hours up crying and screaming in my sleep. I remembered the dreams, that weren't dreams. They were real. They happened.

"Oh my god, oh my god" I fell to the floor and wrapped my arms around my knees.

An image of his dead body came into my mind. He was lying there, not moving. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to get rid of the picture. I wanted so badly to forget. No matter how hard I tried it wouldn't leave my head.

I stood up and stumbled, falling back to the floor. Dragging myself forward, I crawled towards the wall. I sat up and leaned against the wall, banging my head roughly into it. I pulled back and hit my head again and again and again. I felt dizzy, but the picture was still there, so I kept on going.

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, but I didn't stop. My dad appeared and stared at me shocked, before running up and pulling me off the ground. I fell forwards and lay limply against his chest, crying harshly.

***  
When I woke up, my head hurt immensely. I groaned and turned over. My dad was watching me from across the room, a coffee in his hand. He looked warily at me.

"Are you okay?"

I shook my head and stared at the wall, laying my head on my knees.

He stepped closer and laid his hand on my arm. I looked up sharply and threw it off. I didn't want to be touched. If I let them become too close to me then I would just be more hurt if something happened to them. I thought me and Kyle would be together forever. Now he wasn't even alive anymore.

My dad had the same hurt expression on his face from last time I pushed him away.

I tried not to let it get to me.

"Hey" he said gently.

I glared at him.

"Are you ok?"

Stupid question. Couldn't he see how much I was hurting?

"You want to talk?" he asked.

No. I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to talk last time, I don't want to talk this time. I ignored him, choosing instead to watch the wall again. Eventually he left, closing the door behind him. I sighed and fell sideways.

I never knew that I could hurt this much. My boyfriend was dead and I had seen him die. I let that fact settle in. Then I closed my eyes and tried to get back to sleep. My head still hurt horribly and I wanted it to stop. Soon I fell into an uneasy sleep.

I was standing out in the middle of the night and I didn't know why. I was surrounded by darkness, a lone figure in a black void. Howling noises could be heard from around me. I flinched and wrapped my arms around me. Where was I? Footsteps sounded, seeming to be all around me. I spun, searching for whatever was coming towards me. My breath was loud and fast, my heart beating quickly. I could feel hot breath down my neck. I stood still, unable to move, to turn around. A hand was on my shoulder. I slowly turned my head to look at it.

The hand was small, like mine. The fingernails were a chilling red, the colour of blood.

"Like my nails?" she asked.

I gasped.

"Mum?" I asked, my voice wavering.

I looked down at my own hands. They were shaking. I suddenly felt angry and spun around to face her.

Her face was a skull with her hair neatly brushed. Patches of her skin were missing everywhere. She was wearing the top I bought her for her last birthday. I stared fearfully at her, tears making wet streaks down my face. She laughed and said,

"Sweetie, I used his blood", and pointed to my left.

I turned and saw Kyle lying on the floor.

"NO!" I screamed and ran towards him.

But I was just getting farther away instead of closer. I started crying and fell to my knees. I felt arms around me and I screamed again.

"It's just me" she said. I pulled away and found myself covered in blood. I screamed.

***  
TYLERS POV

I could hear screaming from upstairs. It must be another nightmare. I quickly ran up the stairs and looked into the bed taking up space in the middle of the room. I knew there was nothing I could do, since I wasn't allowed to help, but I wanted to try. I was so worried. My only child spent everyday sitting out on the porch and then sleeping and having nightmares. I didn't know what to do. It had been two weeks already. The doctor told me that there are some people that heal better on their own and that the best sort of prescription is no prescription. I listened to his advice, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

Our new neighbours were arriving today. The way brothers, Gerard and Michael. I was looking forward to a distraction and meeting them seemed like a good opportunity. I waited near the bed until I heard a car arrive. Quietly I left and walked outside. A small black car was pulling up in the driveway next door. It looked oddly familiar…

Out jumped a man…dressed as batman? He had a mask, belt, boots and everything. I stared at him.

"Come Robin. To the Batcave!" He yelled, pointing at the house.

Another man hopped out from the passenger seat wearing… a pink top with a unicorn on it?

I watched in shock as they ran to the door and 'Batman' fumbled around with his belt.

Oh my god…my neighbours are insane.

"Robin, I appear to have lost the keys. Find them." Batman demanded.

"Yes Batman sir" he said, then saluted and started checking his pockets.

There was a bang from the rubbish bin as a strong gust of wind knocked it. Batman spun around and said,

"Halt fiend! In the name of Gothlem city, I order you to surrender now or be blasted apart by my awesomeness!"

He ran over and karate kicked the bin, sending it crashing over.

"I warned you" he said, with a straight face.

I heard laughter from behind me. I spun around to see what where it was coming from…and gasped.

I woke up from another nightmare to my alarm ringing. I hopped out of bed and walked outside to sit on the porch. It was my favourite place to spend time with Kyle. I liked to sit there and remember the good times that we had. It's become a haven for me. When I'm not sitting there I feel so upset and I panic.

When I get out there I see something I did not expect to see.

The batmobile has turned up next door. I watch as Batman hops out and runs up to the door. I suddenly realised that I was…smiling?

I hadn't smiled in over 2 weeks. I giggled as Robin saluted and Batman ran off to fight …a bin?

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. My dad turned around and stared at me, his jaw dropping. I ignored him and continued to watch Batman and Robin who were both attacking the bin.

"Back! Robin, get my gun!" Batman shouted.

Robin ran off towards the car and opened the back door. Batman continued to 'fend' off the bin.

"Got all the time in the world here Robin."

"Sorry" Robin said and chucked him his…watergun!

Batman caught the gun and started shooting at the bin.

I noticed a lady walking past with a dog stop and stare at him. I laughed even harder.

A woman came out of the house on the other side of Batman's. She looked stunned, then angry. Stalking over to Batman, she received a face full of water.

Glaring she yelled,

"What do you think you are doing! That's my bin that your attacking!"  
Batman continued squirting her, getting her clothes soaked.

"Stop it! Stop it now or I will have to report you to the police!" she screamed, trying to wipe the water off her face.  
She was unsuccessful though, and retreated back to her house, taking the bin with her.  
Batman high-fived Robin and said,  
"The enemy has been defeated. Good work Robin!"

Then they walked up to the front door again.  
It was quiet as they searched for the keys. I giggled. Batman turned around.  
"Did you hear that Robin? A cry for help!" he said, pointing at me.

Oh god.

They turned and ran towards me saying,

"Never fear, we will save you from the evil man…doctor…um…doctor man?"

I laughed and watched as my dads eyes widened. He turned and tried to shove me into the house. I stayed where I was.

"Get inside, they're crazy! They'll hurt you or-" he was cut off mid sentence as Batman fired the gun at him.  
He turned and ran inside, closing the door behind him.

I grinned broadly as they approached me.  
"Yay! We finally saved someone! I thought this day would never come, I mean, another good deed done Robin." Batman said, patting him on the back.

I laughed and looked shyly at him. I couldn't tell what his face looked like because of the mark, but I could tell what his mouth looked like and his eyes.

His eyes were a beautiful deep green. I stared at them then realised that he'd asked me his name. I couldn't remember it.

"I think your creeping him out" Robin whispered to Batman.

I realised that I had been staring.

I told him my name and then asked for his.

"I am…BATMAN!" he yelled.

"I'm Mikey and this is Gerard. He's my older brother and terminally insane" Robin said.

"I am Batman fool, not Gerard" he said, poking Mikey in the ribs.

I giggled.

***  
GERARDS POV

I was pacing around the kitchen with a coffee in my hand. My brother was sitting on the couch watching TV, after just waking up. The phone started to ring. I tipped my head back and skulled the rest of my drink, then walked to the phone and picked it up. The caller ID said 'Mum'

"Hello! Gerard, best son in the world speaking!" I said cheerfully.

"Hi Gerard. Ah…how is your day been so far?" she said, sounding guilty.  
I felt puzzled. She'd obviously rung up for a reason, since we didn't talk unless we really had to. It wasn't that we didn't get along, we just didn't really see the need to call all the time. But why was she sounding guilty?

"Good! I've been drinking some coffee and sitting around doing nothing" I said.

"Nice to know that you're doing something productive with your life." she said.

"Yeah sure. Did you call for a reason, or just a friendly chat?" I asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did call you for a reason. But I want you to put the phone on speaker and get Mikey in the room. I want to talk to both of you" she said.

"Ok. Just wait a minute" I replied, then called out to Mikey.

"Hey Mikey, come here. Mum wants to talk to us."

"When did Mum get here? I didn't hear the door open" he said, looking confused.

"Not the brightest crayon in the box are we Mikes?" I teased.

"What? I don't get it" he said.

"Exactly my point" I laughed, and then put the phone on speaker.

"Ok Mum, we're both here now. Me and stupid."

I know, I don't sound like a very nice brother, but I am. Really, I am.

"Gerard, you forgot to mention that I'm here!" Mikey said, sounding annoyed.

"Don't be mean to your brother Gerard.." She said.

"Sorry Mikey. You're just so funny when you wake up and haven't had a cup of coffee yet." I said, playfully ruffling his hair.

"Hey! Don't do that!"

"Alright, alright"

"Are you guys done arguing yet? Because I have something to tell you that will affect both your lives."

"Okay. Spill" I said.

"Your father and I have been talking and we've decided that we want to buy a house in Hawaii. We've wanted this for ages, but we couldn't afford it. Now that you guys are old enough to look after yourselves we think its time you moved out so we can sell the house.?"

I stared at Mikey in shock. His face mirrored what I was feeling.

"Mum! You cant kick us out! We love this house. We grew up here and and" Mikey said, suddenly wide awake.

"I'm sorry. But we've wanted this house for years" Mum said, sounding apologetic.

"But...where do we go?" I asked.

"I've looked through some real estate guides and found a couple of places you might like to rent out" she answered.  
Obviously, she'd put a lot of thought into this.

" Fine…we'll take a look at them then." I said.

I didn't really see a way out of this. We were going to have to agree.

Mikey looked at me and mouthed, 'you're not agreeing with her are you?'  
I nodded and mouthed back, 'I don't see an alternative'  
He sighed and left.  
I stared at the phone.

"Gerard? Are you still there?" Mum asked.

"Yes" I said.

"Do you want me to come over and show you some of the places?"  
I agreed and three weeks later we were packing.

"Mikey! Have you packed the bathroom yet?" I yelled.

"No! I thought you were doing it" he screamed back.

"Well I'm not! You are, since I'm packing the lounge room" I replied.

"I already packed the loungeroom. You have to do the bathroom!" He yelled.

"Alright already. I'll pack the bathroom if you stop screaming"

"You were the one that started this" he said.

"Whatever" I muttered and walked to the bathroom.

Once we'd finished packing everything I ran into my room and grabbed the bag of stuff that I'd left on the floor, unpacked.  
I pulled out a pair of wings and some silver bats. Our car was already black, so all I needed to do was stick them on it. I did that, then sprinted back inside.

I pulled out some clothes and got changed into them. Then I pulled on a mask and looked in the mirror.

"Yeah!" I said, then walked out to where Mikey was sitting.

His eyes widened and he stared at me.  
"Gerard... is there any particular reason that your dressed as batman." He asked me.  
I grinned. "Wait till you see the car…I mean Batmobile!"

"Oh god. Why are you doing this?" he said.

" Because I want to have some fun. This is something I've wanted to do ever since I was like, 14. And you, my friend, are going to be Robin!" I said, smiling broadly.

"Yeah right. I think you'll find that I'm going to be dressed as Mikey, not Robin." Mikey replied.

I looked him up and down. He was wearing a pink top with a unicorn on it and black jeans.

"Ok…how about you be dressed as Mikey but be Robin?" I asked, trying to strike a deal with him.

"No." he said, crossing his arms.

"Awwwww…Why not Mikey!" I questioned.

"Because… I…I….fine, I'll be stupid Robin" he mumbled, sighing.

"YAY!I Love you Mikey!" I yelled, running over and kissing him lots.

"EWWWWW!GET OFF ME GERARD!"

I stepped away, grabbing his arm and dragging him with me to the car.

"Oh my god…it's the Batmobile" He said, looking stunned.

"That is so cool!"

"I know!" I said, then hopped into the car.

On the way to our new house I told Mikey all about my plans and where the water gun was in the car.

***  
Mikey jabbed Gerard back and he spun around to glare at him.

"We need to unpack Gerard. Or we won't have anywhere to sleep." Mikey said.

"Huh. Fine we'll go and unpack then." Gerard muttered, mocking Mikey.

I laughed and he smiled.

"I'll see you around then"

He sounded… disappointed?  
I tried to read his expression, but it was kind of hard with the mask in the way.

"I could…come around and help, if you want?" I asked shyly.  
Please say yes.

He beamed and said,

"Yes please! We'll get it done much quicker. You might want to go and get changed though"

I glanced down and realised that I was still wearing my pyjamas. I blushed and excused myself.

Passing Dad, I raced up to my room. He looked surprised and I could hear him following me.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Getting changed, then going next door to help Mikey and Gerard unpack." I answered, looking through my drawers for some clothes.

" Okay then. I'll be downstairs if you want me" he said, before leaving.

I rummaged around until I found something to wear, then decided to have a shower. After all, I hadn't had one in…I don't know how long.

When I had finished showering, I straightened my hair and put some eyeliner on.  
It had been ages since I had bothered to change, let alone care about what I looked like. I wanted Gerard to think I looked nice, I wanted to impress him. Something I didn't think I would ever want again.  
I stared at the mirror, then walked downstairs. I was greeted by Gerard smiling.

I wondered what he looked like without the mask.

"You look nice all cleaned up" He said.

I smiled and said,

"Thanks"

"Come on! I wanna get started" Mikey said, impatiently tapping his foot, before grabbing Gerard's hand and tugging him along towards their house.

"Alright, alright!" he said, turning and grinning at me.

Was I allowed to like someone that I couldn't see?  
I immediately felt guilty. How could I like someone else? What was I even doing going to some strange mans house?

We made it to the door when Mikey decided to mention that he hadn't actually found the keys when he had been looking for them. Gerard announced that we would be 'Going on an Easter hunt!'

We spent a good 20 minutes searching for the keys, when Gerard realised that they were in his bag in the car. So we pulled heaps of boxes and things out of the car until we found the bag.

"Finally!", Mikey sighed exasperatedly.

"Sorry about that" Gerard apologised.

"Don't worry about it" I replied, before stepping into the house.

As we unpacked Gerard talked about why they were moving and all this random chatter. All the furniture was supplied, so we only had to set everything out and move things to suit Mikey. Gerard didn't care where the couch was, but Mikey seemed to mind.

Apparently Mikey, his parents and Gerard all lived in a house on a street called Acacia Way. When they turned 18 they're parents brought a house across the state and moved in there. They allowed Gerard and Mikey to stay where they were because of the art college that Gerard was attending. But the house they brought was 'much better' as Mikey quoted, so they wanted to move there. It also suited Gerard and Mikey to be living on their own, rather than with their parents. A life dream of their parents was to own a house in Hawaii, though don't ask me why. But they never had the funds to buy one. Then they decided to sell their old house, aka Gerard and Mikey's house, to make enough money. Then they're son's could learn to cope for themselves and they got their dream house. Everything worked out.

So here was Gerard and Mikey, fending for themselves. They were paying rent and getting jobs. It was a new start for them.  
It was easy to work out that Gerard liked to talk. I didn't mind though, because I liked to listen to his voice. Mikey seemed used to it, randomly joining in. I learnt about his drawing, singing, what jobs he wanted, what colour he wanted to dye his hair.  
I was really curious to see what he looked like now that I knew him better. So after we'd finished, I was about to ask him if he could take off the mask. But Mikey beat me to it.

"Gerard. Are you going to get changed? I'm sick of the whole 'Batman' thing." He said.

I loved Mikey right then.

"Sure" he replied, walking off to his new bedroom.

Mikey pulled me onto the new couch and reached for the remote.

"Lets watch some TV!" he giggled.

"Sure! Whats on?" I asked.

"I don't know" he said and started flipping through the channels.

He eventually stopped on a show that I recognised.

It was what I was watching two weeks ago. The day I went to the park to meet Kyle…

"Oh my god" I whispered, covering my mouth with my hands.  
A couple of tears slid down my face as I remembered. I tried not to, but I couldn't help it.

"Turn it off " I whispered.

"Pardon?" Mikey asked, not moving his eyes from the screen.

"I said, turn it off, TURN IT OFF!" I yelled at him.

He turned around and stared at me wide eyed, confused, before switching off the TV.

"Are you ok?" he said, sounding worried.

"No…I…no" I said, crying into my hands.

I heard footsteps, then arms around me.

"Whats going on? Whats wrong?" Gerard asked, sounding as worried as Mikey.

"No-nothing….I-I-I'm f-f-fine" I stuttered.

"No you're not. Mikey what happened?" He queried, figuring that he wasn't going to get any answers out of me.

"I turned on the TV and was flipping through the channels. Then I stopped on one and he just started crying and said to turn it off. I didn't do anything, I swear!"

Mikey was starting to panic.

"Its Ok, I believe you" Gerard told him.

He looked down at me.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I-I-I t-t-t-told y-y-you n-n-nothing" I managed to tell him.

They both went quiet, enveloping the room into silence. I sat there, being hugged until I could control myself. Then I pulled away and said,

"I have to go now. My dad will be getting worried about me"

Gerard nodded and stood up, following me to the door. He opened it and said,

"Are you going to be ok?"

" Yes" I replied, then left.

I can't believe that show came on. I was making a good impression on them. They liked me and I didn't want them to know about what had happened. I didn't want them to think that I needed help, or that I wasn't normal. When I was. There's nothing wrong with me.  
My dad opened the door when I knocked. I pushed past him and ran up to my room.  
I could hear him calling my name, so I closed the door and locked it.  
He banged on it, asking me to let him in. I ignored him and fell onto the bed, covering my ears. Eventually he left and everything was silent again.

***  
GERARD'S POV

I didn't know what was wrong. Mikey told me everything that happened when I was getting changed. They'd turned on the TV and Mikey had flipped through the channels looking for something he wanted to watch. Then he was told to turn it off and when he turned around…well I knew the rest.

I had no idea what to do. Sit here and do nothing, go and confront my new neighbours?

I decided on sit here for now. I could ask tomorrow. Mikey stood up and walked into the kitchen. He started to make some coffee, so I walked over to join him when I heard a knock at the door. I turned around and went back in the opposite direction.

The guy from next door that ran away from us was standing there.

"Hello" I said, surprised.

"Hi. I'm going to be blunt with you. What happened?" He said, looking slightly angry.

I explained what had happened and was met with a confused expression.

"That doesn't make sense. Why would that happen?"

"I don't know. I'm as confused as you are. Why doesn't that make sense?" I asked, feeling like I was missing something.

"Can I come in? I'll explain what's happening." He said.

I nodded and opened the door wider so that he could pass through. We sat down on the couch and Mikey walked in.

"A couple of weeks ago, Kyle Sanders died. He was dating my kid. They were very attached and it's affected both our lives greatly." He said, looking troubled.

Oh.

I didn't know to think about that. That was so tragic and no one deserved to go through that. I decided to ask if I could go over and try to make things better.

"Would I be able to go over and see I if could set things straight?" I asked hopefully.

He looked relieved.  
"Yes please. I'm not good at helping" he replied gratefully.

We both got up and I left for next-door. He waited in the lounge room while I went up the stairs. I knocked on the door and heard,  
"Go away!"

"Hey. Can I come in?" I asked softly.

***  
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Oh great, my Dad was going to try and talk to me again. There was a knock at my door and I shouted,

"Go away!"

"Hey. Can I come in?"

I paused. It was Gerard. I thought about it, and then decided to let him in.

"Ok….You can come in" I said, then stood up and walked to the door, opening it.

He smiled slightly at me and walked into the room. I closed and locked the door behind him, then followed him to my bed. I sat down as far away from him as possible, which wasn't far since he was sitting in the middle of it. He moved cautiously towards me, and then gently wrapped his arms around me, pulling me onto his lap.

"I know about your boyfriend." He said softly, playing with my hair.

"I…."

I didn't know what to say to that.

"Is…is that why you're upset?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yea…sort of" I muttered.

"Sort of?" he questioned.

"Well…I was watching TV in the morning… and I ...that show…it was on and it was on at your house and…"  
Much to my displeasure I started to cry again.

"Hey, it'll be ok. I promise" Gerard said.

I nodded while crying into his shoulder. We sat there for ages, until I fell asleep.

***  
When I woke up Gerard was asleep next to me. He was still wearing the clothes from last night, meaning that he hadn't left to get changed. I felt embarrassed that he had to see me break down last night, but he hasn't seemed to mind. I hoped we could still be friends and that this didn't change anything between us.

Gerard looked so peaceful sleeping…and really cute.

I knew that it was wrong to like someone after only one day, but I liked Gerard.  
There, I said it. I felt better now that I had admitted it to myself.

Gerard stirred next to me, and then woke up, blinking at the ceiling.

"Where am I?" He asked, looking confused.

"You talk to yourself?" I said, amused.

"Whoa! You scared me!" he said, sitting up sharply and turning to look at me, "And as a matter of fact, I do talk to myself. All the time actually. Am I still at your house?"

"Yes. I think we both fell asleep. I'm sorry about last night" I said, looking down at my hands.

Gerard hugged me, and then said,  
"Don't worry about it. You're allowed to be upset you know"  
I nodded slightly, not really believing him.

We went downstairs for something to eat, then Gerard went back next door.

I sat on the couch and contemplated what to do about Gerard. Ask him out? I think it was too soon for that. I barely knew him. Do nothing? I didn't like that option, but I didn't know what else to do.

Turns out that I didn't need to decide. A week later, Gerard asked me out.

I felt a tap on the shoulder.

I jumped, then spun around.

"Gerard! You scared me!" I yelled.

"Sorry. I just wanted to get your attention" he apologised.

"Your forgiven. What did you want my attention for?" I said, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"I…I wanted to know if you'd like to come to the movies with me this weekend?" he asked, for once sounding shy.

I felt surprised. But…maybe he meant as friends?

"As a date?" I said cautiously, crossing my fingers.

"Yes" he answered.

I pulled away from him and smiled.

"Yes please!" I told him.

Now it was his turn to smile.

We organised the times and then started talking about nothing in particular.

After a while I heard my dad calling my name.

"I've gotta go. See you!" I said, bouncing off to my house.

"Bye!" He called.

It was the weekend and I didn't know what to wear. I pulled t-shirt after t-shirt out and chucked clothes everywhere. Why was this so hard? It never mattered what I wore any other day. But today was going to be special. I finally found something that I thought looked nice. I hoped that Gerard would agree with me.

I spent a good hour in the bathroom making sure that I looked nice. My hair was perfect and so was my makeup. I smiled at my reflection, then skipped out of the room. I was meeting Gerard outside my house, then we were walking to the cinema. I ran down the stairs and towards the front door.

Once outside, I tilted my head up, looking into the sky. It was blue and beautiful. I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth on my face. I smiled. Today was going to be a good day, I could feel it.  
I spotted Gerard standing under the tree in my front yard.

Then I sprinted towards him and tackled him to the ground. Laughing we stood and arm in arm, walked off down the street.

***  
We walked down the street until we reached the cinema. We were arguing about what we were going to see. I wanted one while Gerard wanted the complete opposite. I didn't see why, his choice sucked. We walked through the doors and towards the listings. I scanned through them until I found a really cool one.

"That one Gee! That one!" I squealed, jumping up and down and pointing at it.

He glanced at it one eyebrow raised, then said,  
"Fine"

Gerard laughed as I pulled him along to buy tickets, smiling insanely.  
"Come on Gerard! We need to buy the tickets so we can get some good seats and we need popcorn and skittles and chocolate and-"

I frowned as Gerard clamped his hand over my mouth, effectively stopping me from talking.  
"Mfff!" I tried to say, but failed.

Gerard grinned and watched me struggle with his hand. I licked him and he let go.

"Ewwww…Don't do that!" he said, wiping his hand on my arm.

"You deserved it!" I said, scowling at him. "You shouldn't have tried to stop me from talking"

"You were being annoying!" he replied, poking me.

"Hey! Don't poke me. Besides I wasn't being annoying. I'm too cute to be annoying. Everyone says so" I said, smirking.

Gerard made a choking noise.

"It's true!" I protested.

He patted me on the back and tugged me towards the front desk. While Gerard was buying our tickets I stared at all the different candies you could get. I pulled at his sleeve and he turned to look at me.

"Can we get some of those- no those ones- no wait those ones" I asked.  
He laughed and asked the pretty boy behind the desk for them. Yes, I called him pretty, because he was.

When he turned around to get them I whispered to Gee,  
"He's pretty"

I giggled at the jealous expression on his face. I deliberately smiled at the guy as he came back.  
"Thank you" I said sweetly, looking at him.

Gerard's arm wrapped around me and pulled me close to him. I glanced at his face and grinned. If looks could kill, that guy would be dead twice over. He looked really scared.

I laughed and Gerard glared at me.

"So not funny" he said.

"Awww….I'm sorry" I replied, hugging him.

"Fine…you're forgiven" he said reluctantly.

I laughed and we walked into the theatre. Gerard found us some seats, which we sat on. We talked for a bit until the movie started. At the start we were watching the movie. By the middle of it I was sitting on Gerard's lap, my head on his shoulder. His arms were wrapped around me, his hands over mine.

I closed my eyes, and then opened them again. I didn't want to fall asleep. But I was so comfy…

My eyes closed again, this time staying shut.

I felt someone shaking my shoulder.

"No" I muttered, keeping my eyes shut tightly.

"Hey. The movies finished" Gerard whispered in my ear, "That means we have to leave now"

"No. I don't want to!" I protested. Gerard laughed and pulled a piece of my hair. "Hey!" I said annoyed, my eyes opening.

"Come on! I'll buy you an ice-cream?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

"Oooh, ice-cream! I'm moving, I'm moving!" I said, jumping up.

Gerard stood up and took my hand. We walked out the door, chatting about the movie.

"What happened in the end? I missed it!" I said, swinging our arms.

"Well why'd you go to sleep then if you wanted to watch the movie" Gerard replied.

"I was comfy! Just tell me, please!" I begged, stopping and pulling what was hopefully a cute face. It worked and Gerard caved.

"Fine, I'll tell you. But we have to walk and talk at the same time."

I grinned and listened to Gerard talking. I really regretted falling asleep, it sounded really exciting.

"Can we get ice-cream now?" I asked, once Gerard was finished talking.

"Sure. Where do you want to go? There's a place down the road where you can eat in" he suggested.

"Cool. Can we go there?" I pleaded.

He laughed and nodded. We walked out of the cinema, me following Gerard's lead. Down the road, around a corner, up the first street.

We reached the ice-cream parlour and stepped inside. I was immediately greeted by a cool rush of air.

"Ooh, they have air conditioning!" I said, then spotted the displays of ice-cream up the front of the shop.  
I ran up there and pressed my face to the glass, trying to figure out what ice-cream I wanted to eat.

"Peppermint! No! Chocolate! No wait- Vanilla, Strawberry!"  
I couldn't decide which one to get. I wanted them all. I turned to Gerard, unsure of what to get. Then I spotted a bright swirling tub of…RAINBOW!

"That one! Rainbow! Rainbow!" I pushed my nose against the window, staring at it.

Gerard laughed and brought me a cone of rainbow ice-cream, and a chocolate one for himself. Gleefully, I ran to a table and sat down, quickly shoving ice-cream into my mouth. I looked over for Gerard. He was waiting patiently for some people to pass. By the time he made it to the table, I was finished. He sat down and looked at my empty hands.

"Did you eat it already?" he asked, disbelief plain on his face.  
I giggled and nodded, then lay my head down on my arms. I watched as Gerard eat his ice-cream.

"How long does it take to eat an ice-cream?" I asked no one in particular.

"Hey! Stop being impatient. If you had of waited we could have eaten them together" he told me, narrowing his eyes.

"No, you're the one that took ages to get here!"

"You sprinted!"

"You walked slowly!"

"Fine, I walked slowly- deal with it" Gerard said, eating a chunk of his ice-cream.

I crossed my arms and glared at him, then lay back down and resumed watching him eat. I got bored pretty quickly though, so I stood up. Gerard looked at me.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I ignored him and walked over to the other side of the table. I slipped in and sat on his lap, getting comfortable. We sat, content, until Gerard finished his ice-cream.

Eventually we got up and left, holding hands. I looked up at the sky, still blue like this morning. I sighed and leant my head on Gerard's shoulder.

As we walked, I realised something. Before I had been sleeping, trapped inside myself. Now, I was awake, freed by Gerard. I smiled and looked at him, feeling completely happy. Right now I couldn't hope for anything better than what I already had.

I'd found my prince.


End file.
